You may find it helpful to create a chart to record how the courses in your evolving degree plan address the different guidelines for your area of study. If you are planning a degree with a concentration, limit your chart to the concentration only. If you have important research into sources other than guidelines (e.g., requirements for professional certifications, graduate school, etc.), include those on a chart as well. Creating a chart such as this may be useful as you develop your degree plan and write your rationale essay.
Note that you have a chart for SUNY General Education Requirements in DPPlanner, so you can use that tool to track your general education; however, because concentrations can have a lot of flexibility, you should create your own tracking chart as shown below.
Here is a sample chart for the Community and Human Services area of study which classifies the concentration courses in a degree plan according to the different guidelines for CHS.
| Area of Study Guidelines for Community and Human Services | Transfer courses and other sources of credit in my degree plan | Empire State College courses in my degree plan | What did I learn? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge of Human Behavior | Introduction to Psychology | Taught me different theoretical approaches to understanding Human Behavior | |
| Abnormal Psychology | Differing patterns of behavior | ||
| Introduction to Sociology | Sociological Theories. How humans interact with environment. Discuss race, ethnicity, gender, socio economical class, etc. | ||
| Introduction to Human Services | Overview of Human Services as a profession | ||
| Theories of Personality | Influences on human development; different theoretical lenses through which to view individuals. | ||
| Knowledge of Service Delivery | Disabled in America | Social Policy, Legal Rights, Current Initiatives | |
| Delivering Services | Different ways and considerations in delivering services | ||
| Skills | Group Dynamics | Case Management | Different techniques to working with groups and maintaining information |
| Ethics | Human Services Ethics | How to maintain records ethically; how to deal with complicated ethical issues | |
|
Diversity
|
Spanish for Health Care Professionals | Important basic language use; cultural considerations | |
| Application and Integration | Internship 1 and 2 | Assisted with program development and case management | |
| Chemical Addictions: Theories | Investigation of treatment practices | ||
| Counseling Strategies for Addictive Clients | How to apply knowledge of individual behavior to particular helping situations |
And here’s a chart to help track how you are addressing ESC College Learning Goals
| Learning Goal | How I am addressing this Goal – add to this on an ongoing basis, and come back to this during my last term |
| Active Learning | In my course in Communications for Professionals, I developed and completed a communication project of my own choosing. I identified a communication situation, researched it, wrote 3 communications, and created both a web page and a YouTube video to address different audiences for the communications related to that situation.
I intend to do a project-based independent study in web design, related to my interest in conservation and developing my digital and communication skills. I also plan on doing a learning activity in this educational planning course on active and reflective learning, because this whole concept intrigues me, and I think that I can become a stronger learner with more conscious reflection. |
| Breadth and Depth of Knowledge | I am designing a degree in communications that moves from lower to more advanced-level courses, which creates some depth. I have 16 advanced-level credits in my concentration right now, and know I will be adding at least 8 more, if not more. For breadth, the guidelines let me know that I need something in legal and ethical issues in communication, and I don’t have that yet, but will be adding it. I already have a historical perspective, and will be doing more courses in digital communications. I am working on this one as I go along and will be adding more here. |
| Social Responsibility | I know that when I take the communication ethics course, this will go into social responsibility. I also am planning on taking a course in community organizing, which is an interest of mine. |
| Communication | This one is easy – all of my communication courses, plus all of the papers and advanced-level papers I’m writing… |
| Critical Thinking and Problem Solving | I have been honing my critical thinking skills through my research, by learning how to analyze the quality of evidence in sources that I find. One of my instructors pointed this important step out to me, and I’ve been working on it in all of my courses that require research papers. Previous to this, I just kind of used anything I googled. |
| Quantitative Literacy | I have taken Algebra, but I plan on taking Statistics as well, since as a professional in communications, I need to know how to interpret and handle statistical information. |
| Information and Digital Media Literacy | I have learned how to use databases to research, using some of the library’s training. Because i am in communications as a professional, even though I’m in an entry-level position, I am quite digitally literate, since that’s the focus of communications today. |